COMHAIRLE CONTAE ÁTHA CLIATH THEAS
SOUTH DUBLIN COUNTY COUNCIL

MEETING OF SOUTH DUBLIN COUNTY COUNCIL

Monday, February 11, 2019

QUESTION NO.3

QUESTION: Councillor S. Holland

Could the Chief Executive outline how many roaming horses were seized by the council in 2018, and of those, how many were euthanized?

REPLY:

All reports of loose/stray horses which are received from elected representatives, members of the public and Council staff are considered in a timely manner and, as appropriate, are referred to the contractor engaged by the Council for the provision and operation of the horse seizure service and horse pound facility.

All seized horses are taken to the horse pound facility where they are microchipped on arrival, (if not already microchipped) and examined by a veterinary practitioner.

In accordance with the Council's Control of Horses Bye-Laws, attempts are made to trace the owners of all horses seized with a view to potential reclaim.

It should be noted that not all animals seized are suitable for rehoming.  Therefore horses which are unsuitable for re-homing,  or those which are not reclaimed by their owners (within a period of five days from the date of seizure and detention the Council or Garda Superintendent) may be disposed of by way of sale, re-homing or animal euthanasia.

The statistics for 2018 are set out below:

Year	Number Of Horses Seized By SDCC	No. of Horses Re-claimed by owner	No. Of Horses Re-homed	No. of Horses Euthanised
2018	147	5	34	108